A toddler who recently died in northern Maine might be alive but for possible government negligence, a veteran Republican state lawmaker says.
Sen. Jeff Timberlake of Androscoggin County is calling on the legislative Government Oversight Committee to investigate.
In a letter to fellow legislators, Timberlake is seeking to scrutinize the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
He cites a number of cases needing legislative oversight, most notably the death of a 1-year-old Milford girl.
Eleanora Ray McLaughlin died in Milford late last year while in the alleged care of an adult male.
The little girl was living in a “home that reportedly had no heat or running water,” according to Timberlake.
The state senator says the girl’s mother, who lives out of state, has tried to get state officials to give her information on the case.
The Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) had investigated the living conditions in the home but had closed out the case a week before the girl died, Timberlake says in his letter.
“If the review determines that critical errors were made by OCFS, which would unfortunately continue a pattern we have witnessed the past few years, the department will need this critical information to correct course,” Timberlake added.
“As it stands now, it certainly appears there were materially significant shortcomings with the case in Milford that led to a dead child less than a week after the case was closed,” he said.
The senator also cites a number of other Maine children’s deaths that should receive more scrutiny from state child-welfare officials to determine if they could have done more to save lives.
“The Maine Legislature has a fundamental duty to safeguard public safety and uphold the integrity of state processes,” he said.
